Live Video Fundraising: 18 Tech Tools for Your Nonprofit
Live Video Fundraising: 18 Tech Tools for Your Nonprofit
Our Recommended Virtual Streaming Software for Nonprofits
OneCause
Overview
OneCause offers a powerful suite of nonprofit fundraising tools to transform giving and digital engagement. Their virtual event solution will help you bring your mission to life in an online setting.
The Virtual Event Center from OneCause lets you create a unified giving experience and gives you the ability to engage your supporters anytime, anywhere. You can curate your own content, live-stream your event, and foster community among your supporters—even in a virtual world.
Captivate attendees with high-impact messaging and interactive multi-media experiences. Then, collect donations, host virtual auctions and celebrations, and spotlight your progress all in the same system.
OneCause has created a seamless live virtual fundraising experience that will benefit and delight both organizers and attendees. Their user-friendly platform and experienced team make it simple to produce, manage, and deliver memorable online event experiences. With support for live video, raffles, live and silent auctions, and other fundraising activities, the Virtual Event Center from OneCause leaves no stone unturned in the mission of helping nonprofits raise more. Contact the OneCause team for a test-drive and pricing information.Why We Love It
Pricing
Other Top Live Streaming Tools for Nonprofits
| Software | Our Reviews |
|---|---|
| OneCause | Jump to this section. |
| Jump to this section. | |
| Jump to this section. | |
| Jump to this section. | |
| Twitch | Jump to this section. |
| Youtube | Jump to this section. |
| Periscope | Jump to this section. |
| Double the Donation | Jump to this section. |
| 360MatchPro | Jump to this section. |
| CharityEngine | Jump to this section. |
| Bloomerang | Jump to this section. |
| Donately | Jump to this section. |
| Soapbox Engage | Jump to this section. |
| Qgiv | Jump to this section. |
| Salsa | Jump to this section. |
| Snowball | Jump to this section. |
| Regpack | Jump to this section. |
| Handbid | Jump to this section. |
Live Video Fundraising Platforms
Facebook is a popular social media platform that is great for posting statuses, connecting with friends, and meeting others with the same interests. One of Facebook’s recently made features is its live streaming tool. With Facebook Live, anyone, from an individual user to a company business account, can broadcast what they’re doing at the moment. This is a great way to showcase performances, a Q&A, and other types of virtual events for your nonprofit.Overview
Facebook makes it easy for you to create your live video stream and announce it to your network. As soon as you schedule a live broadcast, an announcement post is published to your page to let your followers know. Then, at the scheduled time, a post containing your live stream will automatically publish as well. If anyone within your network seemed to express interest during the first announcement post, they’ll get a notification directing them to the broadcast! Anyone can take advantage of Facebook Live with a free Facebook account.Why We Love It
Pricing
Instagram is the top photo sharing platform for individuals, social influencers, and organizations/businesses. With it’s simple interface, users can upload photos, videos, or a series of both. From there, people can also edit their photos and add captions with relevant hashtags to gain more exposure and followers. Now, you can also share live videos on Instagram! Anyone can start live streaming and immediately display to their entire followers’ feeds. People can even join in on your livestream (if you let them!) and expand the live broadcast to their followers as well.Overview
Instagram’s live broadcasting feature is great because you can save it or share it to your story for others to enjoy at a later time. This means that even if someone couldn’t make the original event, they can still view it whenever is convenient for them. With Instagram, you can also let your viewers comment and react in real-time. Pin certain comments so they’re at the top and displayed first. Many nonprofits can take advantage of the feature in order to create a dialogue with their social media followers and update them on current happenings. Anyone can use Instagram and its live broadcast tool with a free account.Why We Love It
Pricing
Twitter is a platform mainly dedicated to quick status updates. With its text character limit, most Tweets are short and to the point. You can even incorporate photos and videos to supplement your message! You can now also go live on Twitter! Powered by Periscope, users can simply compose a Tweet and then tap the “LIVE” button. Whenever you’re ready, press “Go Live” to officially start broadcasting. Anyone on Twitter (or Periscope) can join your live video and participate.Overview
Going live on Twitter is great because it also opens your broadcast to Periscope customers as well. This can double your audience! Additionally, viewers can interact with your live stream with comments and hearts to show their support. This is an extremely engaging method of interacting with supporters. To start live streaming on Twitter, all you need is a free account.Why We Love It
Pricing
Twitch
Twitch is the world’s leading live streaming platform for gamers with millions of participants watching. However, Twitch has been moving to the non-gamer space to include any user who wants to broadcast their life, chat with each other, and create entertainment. You’re sure to find a community for your nonprofit engagements as well! Come up with cool ideas to live stream and get ready to make genuine connections in real-time with supporters. Overview
Twitch is a top platform because your supporters can subscribe to your channel and donate, providing another way to raise revenue. The platform can accept money through Amazon and PayPal. Make sure to advertise your Twitch live stream on your events page and social media platforms. You can also tag your content with special categories to target potential supporters who are already browsing Twitch. To start live streaming on Twitch all you need is an account!Why We Love It
Pricing
Youtube
Youtube has become the main space for content creators for when they want to post a video. Starting in 2005, Youtube has been hosting random videos of cute cats, funny skits, and even daily vlogs of users’ lives. Besides just entertaining viewers, Youtube is also a great place to go for educational content or updates on global news. Youtube now has a Live tab where accounts can choose to live stream content instead of posting it online for permanent viewing. You can view all the live streams on its dedicated page where the videos are broken up by popular categories, from gaming to music.Overview
Youtube is a great platform to utilize because almost everyone is familiar with it. It’s a dependable tool to build up a strong following. Once your live stream is over, you also have the choice to save it and post it to your Youtube account for others to view! Youtube also lets viewers donate to a channel’s live stream with the touch of a button, providing an easy way to raise money. Viewers can also comment in real-time with others who are watching. Creating a Youtube account and streaming is all free!Why We Love It
Pricing
Periscope
Periscope is a live streaming platform that is popular for a variety of content creators. On Periscope, you can watch alligators being fed at a zoo or a travel video, all in real-time. It’s a great place for your nonprofit to also host a live stream broadcast to a wide audience of people.Overview
Periscope is one of the best ways to get your live stream broadcasting to a wide net of people. However, make sure you tag it with relevant hashtags so that it’s easier to find. There’s so much content live streaming at the same time, so it can get lost. You should also link your live stream on social media accounts and sync it to Twitter if you can. To start live streaming with Periscope, simply create an account on their homepage.Why We Love It
Pricing
Tools for Maximizing Donations from Live Video Fundraising
Double the Donation
Double the Donation is a top matching gift tool for nonprofit organizations. Easily embed the search tool into your online donation forms or use the tool yourself to look up if any of your recent gifts are eligible for a gift match. With resources from the largest corporate philanthropy database, you can determine if the donor is eligible as well as pull up their company’s specific guidelines.Overview
Double the Donation is a great tool to maximize your live video fundraising. As they are filling out your online donation form, viewers can also easily look up if they are matching gift eligible with the search tool. You can also pursue matching gifts after the live stream is over. Determine which of your donors are eligible, and send them the appropriate matching gift letter with their company’s guidelines! Double the Donation’s pricing starts at $499 per year!Why We Love It
Pricing
360MatchPro
360MatchPro by Double the Donation helps your nonprofit benefit from one of the most valuable yet underutilized sources of funding: matching gift revenue! It is the #1 automated matching gift tool. 360MatchPro tool can automatically scan your recent donations to determine who is eligible for a matching gift. Your tool will then send the appropriate email to that donor letting them know of this opportunity. Overview
360MatchPro gives you a comprehensive look into all possible matching gifts opportunities, as well as the matching gifts that are in process and insights into what the best next steps are. You’ll better engage your donors and drive each match to completion with automated reminder emails leading up to the deadlines. Visit 360MatchPro for more information on pricing. Or check out the 360MatchPro listing on the AppExchange to learn more.Why We Love It
Pricing
Tools for Accepting Donations While Live Video Fundraising
CharityEngine
CharityEngine is a complete fundraising solution that helps your organization track gifts and ensures that they end up in your designated bank account. With CharityEngine’s all-in-one software, you can facilitate online donations, make use of its marketing tools to reach donors, and create events to increase fundraising engagement.Overview
CharityEngine is a great online fundraising tool that lets your organization accept donations, even while broadcasting live. Include your online donation form link within your video content and encourage viewers to make a gift if they feel inspired. CharityEngine also has a comprehensive CRM system that accurately records the data of each gift made during the live stream. Using that data, set up the foundation for future engagement, and send a thank you email. Contact CharityEngine for a demo and to learn more about pricing. Why We Love It
Pricing
Bloomerang
Bloomerang is a top donor management software that your nonprofit can leverage and provides tools to help you increase donor engagement and retention. With its interactive fundraising dashboard and constituent timeline, you can easily track gift progress and other donor engagements. The best donors are built from strong and stable relationships, so it’s crucial that you have dedicated tools to track key data and help you understand that data.Overview
Oftentimes, you meet a whole batch of new supporters during your live video fundraising broadcast. With Bloomerang’s donor management tools, continue those relationships by referencing giving summaries and your constituent timeline. Bloomerang’s pricing starts at $99 but is ultimately dependent on your organization’s size and needs.Why We Love It
Pricing
Donately
Donately offers digital fundraising services for any organization, whether you’re a nonprofit, church, or agency. Donately’s software consists of comprehensive fundraising tools as well as donor management solutions.Overview
Donately is a dependable solution because you know that with any online donation page you create, it’ll be mobile-responsive. Depending on the video platform you use, many of your supporters might be watching your live stream from their smartphones. With a mobile-responsive donation page, supporters can easily give from that same device whenever inspiration strikes. Donately’s pricing starts at $0/month with a 4% platform fee, but it’s recommended package is $49/month with a 2% platform fee. Check out their pricing page to learn more.Why We Love It
Pricing
Soapbox Engage
If your organization depends on the Salesforce CRM, Soapbox Engage is the perfect fundraising solution for you. Soapbox Engage’s tools are not only incredibly powerful but also easy to use. Quickly create an online donation form for your live video broadcast and simply add the link to your description and viewers can start giving.Overview
Soapbox Engage is a comprehensive solution that also offers a full suite of Salesforce apps for nonprofits, meeting all of your fundraising needs. This includes event planning tools and eCommerce capabilities! This way, no matter what, all of your key data stays centralized within your CRM. Soapbox Engage’s pricing depends on the apps that you’d want included. Each app starts at $49/month while an unlimited subscription can be as low as $199/month.Why We Love It
Pricing
Qgiv
Qgiv is a top online solution that helps organizations of all sizes get their fundraising started and begin collecting gifts immediately. With Qgiv’s customizable online donation forms, you create a seamless giving experience for your live video fundraising viewers. Only ask the questions you need and then easily store that data within your fundraising database.Overview
With Qgiv, your nonprofit can not only take advantage of its online donation tools, but you can also leverage its mobile donation app Givi as well as its text fundraising tools. Providing multiple giving channels increases convenience for donors and encourages to give in anyway they prefer. Qgiv’s pricing plan depends on the exact solutions your nonprofit needs. For a package with everything, it goes at $399/month.Why We Love It
Pricing
Salsa
Salsa Labs provides easy-to-use fundraising tools that fully integrate with their CRM. You’ll be able to create branded donation pages that look great on any device, and have access to digital marketing and online advocacy tools.Overview
Salsa Labs is great because you know with certainty that all data will centralize in its dedicated CRM. Once your live video fundraising broadcast comes to an end, your CRM can give you a comprehensive look at certain metrics, signifying areas you did well in and areas you could improve. Get a custom quote from Salsa to see how much this solution would cost for you.Why We Love It
Pricing
Snowball
Snowball Fundraising is a powerful text to give tool that lets supporters give to your cause with a simple text message. All you have to do is set up a dedicated phone number or shortcode, and a keyword that supporters can use when they’re feeling charitable. Create a customized donation form and a dedicated keyword for your upcoming live stream. From there, all within one system, you can process and track donations.Overview
Snowball’s tools allow your supporters to give with a device that they already have. Easily track gifts in real-time and even post a fundraising thermometer alongside your live stream broadcast to incentivize your viewers more. Simply make sure to advertise both your fundraising phone number as well as this campaign keyword so that users know how to make a gift. Snowball has multiple packages, ranging from $0/year to $999/year. Learn more from their pricing page.Why We Love It
Pricing
Tools for Live Video Fundraising During Events
Regpack
Regpack is a dedicated registration platform that lets you create forms for any type of experience you plan. Oftentimes, organizations will host live video broadcasts alongside their events to increase accessibility to those who could not originally make it. This is a great way to pivot your fundraising to a digital space while still engaging your supporters.Overview
With Regpack, you can fully customize your event registration form to maximize attendance and meet your supporter’s needs. They even have specific capabilities for virtual events, which is perfect for your next nonprofit fundraising live stream. Regpack’s pricing plan starts at 89$/month, but you should contact them for a quote.Why We Love It
Pricing
Handbid
Handbid is a mobile bidding platform for guests at auctions. Attendees can bid on items and watch the competition all from Handbid’s mobile app interface. If you are incorporating live video into your next auction or are planning a digital auction, Handbid is a great tool to ensure that attendees can participate without having to physically be at an event. This can increase the number of guests you have and raise your overall revenue.Overview
Handbid is not only a great mobile bidding tool, but also has its own live stream tool. With Handbid Live, you can live stream to guests through the app or through your bidding website. This way, your guests don’t have to leave the bidding interface to watch the broadcast. Handbid’s has multiple pricing plans that you can pick from. We recommend contacting them to customize your plan.Why We Love It
Pricing
Additional Resources
Best Virtual Fundraising Software for Nonprofits
In this post, we break down the top virtual fundraising software that your nonprofit can take advantage of. Virtual fundraising has been on the rise, especially due to COVID-19. It’s worth it to explore the top solutions.
Matching Gifts and COVID-19: How Companies are Responding
Are you curious to how corporations with matching gift programs are responding to the COVID-19 crisis? Learn about how companies are now finding themselves expanding their programs and what that means for your nonprofit fundraising strategies.
15+ Best Church Software Solutions for Virtual Success